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Senate battle hits Big Sky country

In 2010, Rehberg’s net worth was estimated to be as high as $12.1 million, compared to Tester’s, who was estimated to be worth as much as $1.5 million, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Still, in one of Tester’s radio ads, he accuses Rehberg of seeking tax breaks for “multi-millionaires like himself.”

As a House veteran, Rehberg also has to defend his record serving in an unpopular Congress. Rehberg is taking heat from Tester for the House’s failure to pass a farm bill, even as the GOP congressman said he was “fighting” with Republican leaders to push the measure through his chamber. And after a voter here accused lawmakers of allowing “open diseases” to cross the border, Rehberg defended Capitol Hill’s work to toughen the country’s immigration policy.

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“See, you don’t hear it much up in Montana, but there’s a lot of activity that’s going on,” Rehberg said.

About 45,000 ads have run on the airwaves since June, according to a Wesleyan University study last month, including about $10 million in outside spending flooding the cheap media markets here, with several attacking Tester’s position on the estate tax. And while Tester is banking on his likability to woo wayward voters, polls show both men’s popularity slid amid an onslaught of negative ads, something that could hurt the Democrat’s chances to appeal to voters based on his personality.

It also means there could be room for a libertarian candidate, Dan Cox, to pull some support at the polls. Democrats hope he’ll pull away between 7 and 10 percent of the vote, mostly from Rehberg, given the libertarian-minded nature of this state, but Cox predicted in an interview that his votes would be “split” between Tester’s and Rehberg’s backers.

On the stump, Rehberg emphasizes bipartisanship, neglecting his membership in the Tea Party Caucus. His answers can be substantive and wonky, sometimes appearing aloof from the crowd. Indeed, as he spoke to a group of high school seniors here, the House veteran sounded like he was talking to a Washington crowd — dropping terms like “foreign ops approprations” and “insurance premium subsidy.”

And while Tester can come across warmly to the crowds, he also can be vague about his record and how he’d deal with some big problems, like the deficit.

“Get on my website,” he told a group of veterans and supporters here as he stumped with Sen. Jim Webb, “it’s got plenty of information of what we accomplished.”

For Tester to win, he’ll have to energize Democratic strongholds of Butte, heavy with union Democrats, and bring out his supporters in the college town of Missoula. But the biggest prize will be the state’s most populated region, Yellowstone County, where both men see inroads. Republicans see Tester’s support of an air pollution rule that they say will force layoffs at a coal-fired power plant in the region as a big liability. And Democrats believe a lawsuit Rehberg filed in 2010 against the Billings Fire Department over its alleged negligence in containing a wildfire has angered many of the Republican’s would-be supporters in the county.

But Tester says his big challenge in the final month is to “fire up” his own supporters, something his campaign began to address at the University of Montana campus in Missoula this week when the band Pearl Jam headlined a fundraiser and rally on his behalf.

“Jon is the most authentic Montanan that I know,” said Jeff Ament, the band’s bassist who grew up with Tester and whose dad gave the senator his first flat-top haircut as a teenager. “He’s the dyed-in-the-wool Montana guy.”

Rehberg launched his campaign at the top of the TEA party wave with Michele Bachmann at his side, but has been running away fast from that inauspicious start, due to the spectacular failure of the last TEA party-dominated state legislative session. Not mentioned in the story above are the two widely publicized incidents involving alcohol -- falling off a horse on a trip to Kazakhstan and a drunken boating crash that injured Rehberg and several party leaders.

Yes, much of the advertising avalanche by the GOP and its SuperPacs links Tester to Obama, but it may be overplaying the unpopularity of the president. Well-respected John McCain only had an 11,000-vote margin of victory in Montana in 2008, and Mitt Romney's no John McCain in a state that respects military service.

Last, Rehberg's lawsuit against firefighters -- who are considered real heroes out here -- did real damage in the heart of his Billings/Eastern Montana constituency.

I seen three fellas fly into Billings in their Lear Jet from New York. They rented a truck and drove out to see Rehberg. By the time they left town, Rehberg had three Montana steers and a big bag of Wall St. money.

It's time for Rehberg to head down the road and become a lobbyist which is basically what he is anyway. Lots of outside money pouring in for him.....big oil and lobbyists love him. I have nothing against developing the resources but Rehberg hasn't worried much about anybody but the wealthy until he started campaigning. He was one of the flag-waving extremist tea partiers along with Michelle Bachmann and has been running from some of the extreme stuff over the summer. Tester is very committed to the military and the farmers and ranchers. Poster #4 is right, "All hat, no cattle but a lot of big city money."

Ok, if Tester is worth up to $1.5 million, he is NOT a multi-millionaire. And Tester is not voting to cut taxes on multi-millionaires even if he were one. So he is putting the countries needs ahead of his tax concerns.

Rehberg is bad for Montana and bad for the country. Tester is a working Montanan, a moderate, and a decent person. The other guy is just another nut case who has his own hand out for government money and subsidy, but condemns anyone else for doing the same. If voting with Obama 95% of the time is a bad thing for a Democrat, then, please, review the votes of Rehberg...

I think voters will come to their senses, its just an excited blip. Nothing has changed on the policies of the candidates.

You can look at this through one TV debate, where Mitt booked five days off to prepare and Obama had a day job and fundraising to catch up. Or you can think about the all of this, the Denver debate, the 7.8 and why Jim Lehrer lost control..... ….and of Mittonnesty, Mittology and Mittematics!

Mitt is not bound by honesty, consistency, or even physics it seems. He just keeps on saying whatever he happens to think will help at the moment. Dont' think the majority of right thinking Americans are going to buy his shifting positions.

I know the verdict is in and most say Gov. Mitt Romney “won” the debate. After watching and considering it the past few days, I think Obama won. How and why? Well, for starters Romney's high energy and bullet point delivery was structured to brazenly open attacks on the President; as though everything was his fault. As though everything was normal about this past 4 years and Obama just couldn't cut it. Romney gave no quarter, when a dollar is actually due.

Obama deserves credit rather than criticism. America has a plan and is moving forward to build its infrastructure, its science, its schools, its health, and its strength and leadership abroad. A plan to deal with the deficit. A plan to build a foundation for an economy built to last. A return to the American Dream. A fair shake and a fair shot to achieve that Dream.

Mitt's narrative is negative against all the President has done and is doing and against Obama personally. Against progress for America on Obama's watch. Progress is only acceptable and co-operation valued when it is a GOP President. Somehow, Obama's leadership is unpatriotic and foreign, even as he espouses GOP proposals!

Obama is on this path in an honest and straight forward way. It is more than a promise, it is happening. It just needs to happen much faster. And it is you who can step on the gas right now!

How? Simple; vote out obstructionist politicians. That's it, just vote against any politicians more focused on limiting Obama's future, than expanding America's and yours. Do it right now! Let's go! Just say “That's it for you (fili)buster”! This will send Congress a message. A strong one. Americans are not going to take this any more!

This gives Pres. Obama's good efforts leverage to propel the country Forward. Obama deserves another 4 years. I think he is focused more on doing right by America and Americans than most politicians in living memory. I think that President Reagan is a good comparison.